Research Guides: Medical Images: Images for Teaching and Studying

Medical Image and Multimedia Databases from VCU Libraries

Consult the Terms and Conditions sections of each site before distributing content.

Anatomy.TV
Interactive 3D models of human anatomy, including images of all bodily systems. Users may manipulate the images and view accompanying text, animations, dynamic MRI, and movie clips, as well as take interactive quizzes.
Bates' Visual Guide to Physical Examination
Videos of head-to-toe and systems-based physical examination techniques for clinicians. The site features over eight hours of video content.

Due to the vendor's platform migration, VCU Libraries patrons are likely to run into problems creating personal accounts, which provide access to personalized features (e.g., Add to Favorites). Access to Bates videos, however, remains fully functional. The vendor is working to resolve the issue with personal accounts. Please contact AskHSL@vcu.edu with any questions.
VisualDx
Licensed by the VCU Health System. Clinical decision support system that allows validation of a medical diagnosis based on visual conditions. Contains medical images detailing variation in age, stage, and skin type.
AccessAnesthesiology
Online resource that includes leading clinical textbooks in anesthesiology, procedural videos, clinical guidelines, self-assessment Q&A, and an interactive drug database with search and customizable curriculum functionality.
AccessEmergencyMedicine
Comprehensive search tool for quick diagnosis and treatment for a broad range of emergency cases. Includes emergency medicine textbooks, procedural videos, self-assessment tools, an integrated drug database, patient handouts, and clerkship resources.
AccessMedicine
Access to McGraw-Hill medical textbooks including Harrison's Online. Contains multimedia library with case files, safety modules, procedural videos, diagnosis and self-assessment tools, patient handouts, an integrated drug database, and more.
AccessPharmacy
Access to leading pharmacy textbooks, an extensive multimedia library, care plans, self-assessment tools, case files, a drug and supplement information database, and more.
AccessPhysiotherapy
Physical therapy resource that includes textbooks, procedure and exercise videos, image galleries, self-assessment tools, and a cadaver dissection tool.
AccessSurgery
Resource for surgical education including textbooks, videos, drug information, and board review questions.

Public Websites

The following resources are examples of other image services. These may charge fees or require subscriptions. Inclusion does not imply endorsement by VCU Libraries.

MedPix Database
A National Library of Medicine database, MedPix® is "a free online Medical Image Database with over 53,000 indexed and curated images, from over 13,000 patients."
Catalog of Clinical Images
This Clinical Image section of this site is a visual educational resource dedicated to providing pictures that are representative of common and uncommon physical exam findings. Maintained by the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. Images do not contain Creative Commons Licenses.
American Society of Hematology Image Bank
An image library that offers a comprehensive, growing collection of images relating to a wide range of hematology topics (requires free account registration)
HEAL: Health Education Assets Library
HEAL is a digital collection of educational materials for the health sciences. "The Health Education Assets Library (HEAL) is a digital library that provides freely accessible digital teaching resources of the highest quality that meet the needs of today's health sciences educators and learners."
National Cancer Institute Visuals Online
The National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Visuals Online provides a range of photographs and illustrations that may help communicators of medical and public health convey meaning, describe concepts, and tell stories.
National Eye Institute Photos, Images & Video
"Items here are not copyrighted. However, credit as follows: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health (except where indicated otherwise)."
DPDx A-Z Index
DPDx is an educational resource designed for health professionals and laboratory scientists.
Visible Human Project
The Visible Human Project from the National Library of Medicine provides a public-domain library of cross-sectional cryosection, CT, and MRI images obtained from one male cadaver and one female cadaver.
Cell Image Library
This Image Library is a repository for images and movies of cells from a variety of organisms.
National Library of Medicine: Images from the History of Medicine
"The collection includes portraits, photographs, caricatures, genre scens, posters, and graphic art illustrating the social and historical aspects of medicine dated from the 15th to 21st century." Images are from the library's collection, NOT public domain images produced by the NLM, so some may be protected under copyright.
Medicine and Madison Avenue
A Duke University collection of "over 600 advertising items and publications dating from 1850 to 1920, illustrating the rise of consumer culture and the birth of a professionalized advertising industry in the United States."